The UK’s ongoing divorce negotiations with the EU have caused the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to postpone work about the risks of using data in the wholesale market.
Brexit has forced the FCA to suspend work on a call for input to assess the access and use of data in the wholesale market. The call for input was originally supposed to be published in the second quarter of 2019.
However, as several of the firms the financial watchdog would have liked to talk to will be busy preparing for Brexit, the FCA has now delayed the deep dive into the sector to “allow firms to focus more time on EU withdrawal,” according to a statement on the FCA’s webpage.
The FCA stated that it is committed to undertake this work in the future. “There is rapid and wide-ranging innovation in data in wholesale markets,” the statement said. “Firms’ ability to gather and analyze data has grown tremendously in scope and in speed, with a corresponding increase in the value of data. This promises very significant benefits through the availability of more efficient, comprehensive and timely data for wholesale market participants.”
Nevertheless, the FCA also noted that the new ways of using data also created more risks. “Innovation could increase barriers to access, including timely access, to data, and favour larger or incumbent firms, weakening competition,” the FCA stated. “Some firms may be able to exploit market power as providers of critical data or data analytical tools. We therefore still intend to undertake diagnostic work to understand the changes and to identify possible harms and their drivers.”
As the UK’s withdrawal from the EU draws closer, FinTech Global recently looked into what Brexit will mean for the country’s position as Europe’s FinTech leader. Several authorities in the sector expressed concerns about how well British FinTech companies will be able to recruit talent and fears that Brexit will affect the sector’s startups from attracting investment.
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